Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-01-24

Raising and Its Drswbacks-An Inci-
dent at Anniston-Towns.
Judge Kelley has come back from his
southern trip. full of its wonderful devel-
opment. He says the new south is entirely
different from the south Of twenty years
ago Said he:
Certain parts of the south are going
ahead faster to-day than in any parts of
the north. The country about Birming
ham and Admission is on the boom, and
their appearance is that of the fast grow
ing western frontier town rather than the
old villages of the south Nashville is a
magnificent city. Chattanooga has, l
think, the largest tannery in the world,
and is doing great deal of manufactur-
ing. 1t ships its lumber in every direction,
and it has all the enterprise of q northern
city. About Chattanooga the farmers are
making great deal in the raising of fruit,
and it is a curious thing that on one side
of Mission ridge there are vast strawberry
beds which run up the side of the noun
tain. and over the hill are great fields of
grapes. These Strawberries are shipped
all over the country by the car load and
by train loads. They are eaten in Cincin
natl Cleveland and Chicago, and, coming
as they do carly in the season, they bring
high prices. cite this as an example as
TO how the south is Investigating its re-
sources The land will raise something
else than corn and cotton, and the people
are beginning to find it OUT
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.
How about railroad building2'
ftCoyaroI Thousand Y,oilaa of voilroa6
were built in the south during the past
year, and everywhere the railroad goes
the country develops. In the newly de-
veloped part of the south the condition of
the lower class is rapidly improving The
laborers of Chattanooga, Birmingham, An
niston and the fast developing mineral
regions Of the south live in good houses,
and they make fair wages ! estimate
that one bachelor laborer is of more good
to the storekeepers of the southern COM
munity than four families who are en-
gagged in the work of raising cotton |
assert this without fear of contradiction.
and am able TO maintain it. The south
has been divided up into small farms and
these farms are almost universally de
voted TO cotton raising. Each farmers
product amounts to about one or two
pttlCE IL Ncdl, lIdH NNp dIlNi
often not more than one. He sells these
bales for about $40 apiece, and these $40
constitute his annual income and support
Long lines of these poor farmers come to
market with their yearly load of cotton
Sometimes they have two steers attached
to cart. sometimes a mule and n steer,
and at other times horse. The head Of
the family drives the cart. back of him is
the bale of cotton, and behind in the
wagon or cart sit the women Of the
family.
'I saw hundreds of such scenes and |
found that the women of the family al
ways come along. This was In order
that they might lay in their yearly sup
plies of clothes and provisions. This sac
represented the entire money outlay for
the year, and their entire purchasing
power for household conveniences. Hence
they came along TO advise their husbands
and fathers as to the use of the money.
BITTER COLD NIGHT
cone night that spent at Admission was
bitter cold. A large number Of these small
planters and their families had come in to
sell their cotton. but they had arrived too
late for the dealers to buy They were too
poor to go to a hotel. and they had to sleep
in their wagons or huddle around a fire
which they kindled out doors to keep them
selves warm. Some of these farmers travel
twenty, thirty and forty miles to market
The roads are not good. as there is little
intercOmmunication among them. The
cotton trip is the big trip of the year. and.
doubt not. is talked of for weeks before
il is undertaken The large landowners,
who, in some cases, rent out small farms
To these planters, graduate their charges
and the expenses of raising by the extent
of the crop, and, Us rule, it makes not
much difference whether the crop amounts
to five bales or three. The poor farmer
gets enough to live upon, and this is about
one bale. Now, a laborer at 81 day viii
make $500 n year if he works steadily, or,
even in a slipshod way, he is sure to make
$l2O, This, as rule, he spends, and this
amount is three times that of the average
small farmer" "
How about the new towns in the
south?''
They are growing up along the differ
ent lines of road, and they are showing all
the signs Of modern civilization Many of
the new store buildings which are erected
are of brick, and found good churches and
schools in many Of them. In Admission
noticed the children going to school They
seemed as well dressed as our northern
little ones, and visited q number of both
white and colored schools and found them
very well conducted Frank g. Carpen-
ter in Cleveland Leader.